Fruit picking device



May 23, 1950 w. E. SCOTT FRUIT PICKING DEVICE 2 sheets-s eet Filed Oct. 31, 1947 INVENTOR WlLLlAM E. scofi I I k l I I ATTORNEYS May 1950 v w. E. SCOTT I 2,508,805

' FRUIT PICKING DEVICE Filed Oct. 31; 1947 FIG. 6.

v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I FIG; l2.

1NVENTOR 5 l l. I WILLIAM -E. soon FIG 79 45 ATTORNEYS BY 3; WWYM Patented May 23, 1950 I S TATES :o FFlCiE 4 "FRUIT PICKINGDEVIGE William E. Scott, LostAngeles, Calif. Application October 31, 1947, Serial Na-788,258

(Cle 56=-:338)

,8 Claims. 1

This inventionrelates generally to fruit picking vdevices of the type :whereina..cutterelement is -mounted on the. end of a long. pole forsevering the stem. of a, fruit and means are-provided at the opposite end of the pole for a person to operate thecutter eleinentxwhile.holding the pole. In such :deviqesmeansare sometimes provided for catching the severed fruit .topreveht; its damage by falling .tnzthe ground.

It is a pr m y-o jectorthisinven icntom vide a new and improved fruit picker ofthe. gen- ;eral type indicated for the selective picking of fruit from trees at places inaccessible to the nor- ::;me1rea-ch of he ind du l- It. is also an object of thisinventionto provide tal sh we eht e ily h d e t cker which "gan'be readily operated by a person without inthe fruit either when the fruit is severed ,i om the stem or as it. falls after being severed. lnthis connection itis an object to provide a fruit p cker in which no part of the device hides the from the vision of the operator, thereby en- -ablin-g the operator to. see the fruit selected for picking from the moment it is first chosen until it isfinally cut by thedevice.

t afurther object to provide, in. afruitpicker; of the type indicated, an improved means. for SQYBJZingthe fruit from the stem.and,in this connection, it is a particular object to provide a novel .lg ife blade construction and assembly associated with the hopper for receiving the fruit.

It is also an object to provide a new and proved chute and receptacle for receiving and liolding iruit after it is severed from the stem.

These. and other objects. will be. apparent from the dIawings and description thereof. Referring to he d awi s:

Big. 1 is an elevational view oi a fruit picker embodying the invention;

Eig .2 is an enlarged side elevational view, part- -.ly infsection, of the upper endof the fruitpicker;

Eig. A 2A is a fragmentary elevational, view of the upper end of the fruit picker opposite to that sho n d e 2;

-tal-;en on the plane 4-4-of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 an enlargedsection; on line 5-5. of

151g. 6 is an explodedviewshowing thepartsof theentte m hanism in p sp cti 2 Fig.9.. section on line I 99 of Fig. 5; :Eigl 0. is a sectionaanline Ill-t0 of Fig. 5; Elg; 11 is aseotion on' line: I l-t l-"of Fig: 5; .Fig. 12 is aneievational .view of I a modi-fied 1.1601311 .of 1 hopp :13 is a section line [6-43- of Fig. 12;, ..Fig.; 14 isasection similar toFig lo througlra smodifiediormofthe. invention and .fiigelfiiis a perspective; viewer a cover plate.

More particularly .desnrihing the-invention, reference numeral 'l l generally indicates: a pole or notion one end ..of'which;is arruitspicking "head -12 fl'Qm;.-W1liGh leads .a-chute; 114. .dawmthe oleto a receptacle t5 located near .thezhanrile end. .116

ohtheanole. Elbe Pole 11 may; consist .ot amelongated. tubalar metal member, preferably ofjlightgweight ma tcrialhstlchias.aluminum. Air-the upperor outer 21; (Fig 5);. tarecei-ve: the; fruit. Preferablygthe hopper is mounted-at a: sliehtangle to, the:..-po'1e with. theplane Of-therim Z0 beingtdisposedat-less than relative to the pole --H.=.

hopper. includes. a skirt zfiedepending from the: n1ain portionaof thathopper .towhich the bracket. I39 i5 flltfi3hdt impart. Ifheiskirtil-liiis adapted to unnort. bhe;uppen:end,.ofi; the. flexible chute I14, which masebe made. of fabric,-..s;uch-.as vct1 r 1vas..orthelike. The pper; end of-the chute, .whichis tubular. insshape mayaberattached. $021118 skir asbvmeanest aba -l k c mor I avinga takerup; or. tighteninggscrew. mechanism. 28 thereon- The loveergend of. the chute I.4--is; re.- ceived within theareceptaole'zl. 5,being attached thereto by stitchin qflkll running about; halt-way around; the-.lowen end. of: the chute.- Theirecepy- .tapleyis. of:-;greaten diameter than. thechute, where ythe: rwar l i tpmie t some a beyond the.-ehute.-.afiording assess. thereto. !I he receptacle may be.- providedtwith. a soft resilient padding on; itsylower .walhof spongeauhber or the like. In this connection.- the rear portion of; thessk-irtt 26 ot; the hopnern. isalso: preferably ,50 and ii of the top and bottom plates.

to sever the fruit from the stem the hopper is provided with stem receiving V-slot 38 which is centrally disposed in the upper wall portion of the front edge of the hopper and with suitable stem cutter or severing means 40 associated therewith.

Preferably the upper wall of the hopper i8 is formed to provide a pair of excrescences 42 and 43 which house certain portions of the cutting means, as will beapparent from the following description. The cutting means comprises a bottom plate 45, a guide plate 46, an upper plate 41, and a knife or cutter blade 48 which is received in the guide plate and between the bottom and top plates. Referring particularly to Figs. -11 inclusive, for a description of these parts, the bottom plate 45 is provided witha centrally disposed forwardly facing V-shaped recess 50. The top plate 41 is provided with a similar recess indicated by numeral 5|. The central or guide plate 4 6 is formed to provide an elongated rectangular guide way opening 53 which is designed to slidably receive the cutter blade 48 and permit of limited longitudinal movement thereof.

The forward edge of the guide plate is apertured at 54 in a position corresponding to the recesses The guide plate is preferably slightly thicker than the knife or cutter blade 48 so that the cutter blade ,may be moved or reciprocated in the guideway 53 .between the plates 45 and 41.

Suitable holes 56 are provided in the plates for securing the assembled plates to the hopper by means of screws 51 in a position whereby. the recesses 5G and 5| of plates 45 and 41 are'directly beneath and coincide with the inner end of slot 38 in the hopper.

In order to operate the cutter blade, the same is provided with a pair of upright lugs 69 and SI which extend upwardly through slots 62 and 63in the top plate 41. Lug 60 is adapted to receive the end of a tension spring 65 which extends from the lug over'the top of the plate to a suitable retaining screw E56, the spring servingto retain the cutter blade in a position whereby the stem" receiving slot of the device as a whole, in-

dicated generally by numeral 38, is open, as will later be apparent.

The cutter blade 48 is provided with a recess 70 having an edge ll corresponding to and adapted to normally lie in the same plane as the one edge of the slots 50 and 51 of the plates 45 and-41. :The recess has two other edges, 12 arid13, form- .ing a V which are sharpened to provide a cutting edge. With this construction, when the cutter blade is moved across the main recess 38, a stem therein is'readily retained and severed without any likelihood of its being pushed out of the recess by movement of the cutter blade.

In order to actuate the blade a cable or wire is attached to lug 6| by a suitable fitting Hi. The cable extends through a hole 18 in-the excrescence 43 and'through a tube 19 leading to the interior of the pole at a point80 below bracket 18. The cable extends through the poleto aman- 'ually operable lever 82 associated with a handle 83 near the lower end of the pole. 7 f

'- In theoperation of the device, the fruit picker as a whole is elevated with the front or open end of the hopper facing the operator. The'hopper is moved to the fruit selected forpicking in order to bring the stem of the fruit into'the'recess 38 and the fruit itself within the confines of the hopper- The lever 82 can" then be operated to slide the cutter blade acrossthe opening 38 dur- 4 ing which movement the stem of the fruit is caught by the V-shaped cutting edge 12-13 and severed thereby, the fruit dropping into the hopper and falling by gravity to the receptacle l5. Figs. 12-l5 inclusive show a modified form of the invention wherein a pole Ha supports a hopper 99 which is generally similar to the hopper H3 in shape, except that it is not provided with a skirt portion 28. In this form of the invention the fabric chute is directly attached to the hopper at 92 which may be formed along the margin to provide a double bead 93 to receive and retain a draw string, or wire 94 or other securing means. In this form of the invention the cutter blade mechanism i mounted on the outer surface of the hopper and a pair of separate cover plates, one of which is shown in Fig. 15 at 95, are provided in place of the excrescences 42 and 43. The cutter mechanism comprises the same plates previously described and shown in connection with Fig. 6. The cover plates are secured by means of the screws which fasten the cutter assembly to the hopper. This form of the invention operates in the same manner as the form previously described Although the invention has been particularly shown and described, it is contemplated that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope thereof as indicated by the following claims.

I claim: 7

1. In a fruit picker having a pole, a hopper mounted on said pole and presenting an opening for the reception of a fruit, said hopper having 'a fruit stem receiving slot in its upper wall, a

top plate and a bottom plate mounted on said hopper in the region of said slot, said plates having corresponding recesses substantially coin ciding with the inner end of said slot, a guide plate having a g-uideway opening therein mounted between said plates, said guide plate being formed to provide an opening through its front edge to said guideway opening, a cutter blade mounted for sliding movement in said guideway opening, said bladehaving a recess formed therein in the region 'of the recesses in said plates, one edge of said "cences housing said top and bottom plates, guide plate, cutter blade and cutter holding means.

3. In a 7 fruit picker having a pole, a hopper mounted on one end of said pole, said hopper having an open front for the reception of a fruit to be icked and having an'opening in it lower portion rearwardly of the front for the delivery of picked fruit, the upper wall portion of said hopper being disposed to overhang the lower wall portion thereof when said pole is vertically disposed, the upper wall portion of said hopper being provided with a stem receiving-slot extendingfor a limited distance rearwardly from the front edge thereof and with stem cutting means carried by the hopper in the region of said slot and adapted to sever a stem in said slot. I

4. A cutter mechanism for use as described,

comprising, when assembled, a top plate, a'bottom plate and anintermediate guide plate h'aving a cutter blade guideway opening, said plates being formed and positioned to collectively provide a slot for the reception of a fruit stem or the like to be severed, means holding said plates together, a cutter blade slidably mounted in said guideway opening for longitudinal movement, said blade having a recess normally in the region of said slot, said recess having a V-shaped cutting edge facing transversely of said slot, mean for yieldably holding said blade with the recess thereof in the region of said slot, and means for moving said blade to cause said cutting edge to move across said slot;

5. A cutter mechanism as defined in claim 4 in which said plates and said blade are longitudinally arcuate,

6. A cutter mechanism for use in severing the stem of a fruit comprising, when assembled, a top plate, a bottom plate corresponding in size to said top plate, said top and bottom plates having corresponding recesses formed in one Side edge and extending transversely of the plates together forming a stem receiving slot, a guide plate between said top and bottom plates having a guideway opening therein extending longitudinally thereof, said guide plate having an opening in one side edge to said guideway opening, said last mentioned opening corresponding in position and width to the recesses in said top and bottom plates, a cutter blade mounted for sliding movement in the guideway opening of said guide plate, said cutter blade having a recess in one edge extending transversely of the blade, one edge of said recess in said cutter blade being sharpened to provide a cutting edge, means yieldably holding said blade in a position with the recess thereof in the region of the stem receiving slot and with said cutting edge to one side of said slot, means for moving said blade to cause said cutting edge to move across said stem receiving slot, and means securing said top and bottom plates and said guide plate together.

7. A cutter mechanism as described in claim 6 in which said top and bottom plates, said guide plate and said cutter blade are longitudinally arcuate.

8. A cutter mechanism for use in severing the stem of a fruit comprising, when assembled, a top plate, a bottom plate corresponding in size to said top plate, said top and bottom plates having corresponding recesses formed in one side edge and extending transversely of the plates together forming a stem receiving slot, a guide plate between said top and bottom plates having a guideway opening therein extending longitudinally thereof, said guide plate having an opening in one side edge to said guideway openling, said last mentioned opening corresponding in position and width to the recesses in said top and bottom plates, a cutter blade mounted for sliding movement in the guideway opening of said guide plate, said cutter blade having a. recess in one edge extending transversely of the blade, one edge of said recess in said cutter blade being sharpened to provide a cutting edge, a lug extending upwardly from the upper surface of said cutter blade at each end thereof, a pair of longitudinally extending slots in said top plate through which said lugs extend, a tension spring secured to one of said lugs, means securing the other end of said spring beyond the end of said cutter blade, the other lug of said cutter blade being adapted to be connected to a cable or the like for operating the cutter blade, and means securing said top and bottom plates and said guide plate together.

WILLIAM E. SCO'IT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS- Number Name Date 460,903 Woodward Oct. 6, 1891 775,649 Gregory Nov. 22, 1904 916,055 Swan Mar. 23, 1909 1,100,965 Farmer June 23, 1914 1,309,712 Adams July 15, 1919 

